1 Milk

"In the harsh cold weather of Yakutsk, while the others were suffering from ice constipation, Iwan, a five-year-old, was encompassed by the unimaginable warmth of his parents.

That 'Iwan' was me. A happy bright kid in that cold crazy weather.

Even though the warmth was coming from the five layers of clothing that my mother had forced me to wear, this simple action was derived from the love my mother had for me, and I knew it, as well.

Yeah, nobody knew it more than me.

A few days passed and it was the day of my sixth birthday.

It was that day when I faced the first betrayal."

Iwan looked at the old man who was sitting next to him.

That old man was one of the two souls present in this deserted wrecking yard. The other was none other than Iwan himself.

The old man's upper half was naked while a swaying short filled with holes was barely hanging on his waist.

Iwan had tears in his eyes while he continued telling the old man about his past. But, the old man who was indeed listening to his mumbles couldn't give a shit as he was partially busy scratching his bald head.

The silence between Iwan and the old man continued for a while before the old man finally realized that the young man he was listening to, had stopped quite a while ago.

"Why did you stop?"

"If you say so, I will continue my story."

'Since he is dying to know what happened next, I will just continue.'

Iwan thought while rubbing his eyes. But, he missed the smile on the old man's face that showed how relieved he was with the silence.

Unfortunately, Iwan continued.

"There was no milk.

I still remember my mother's voice clearly as she told me,

( Iwan, I am going out to buy some milk. So, stay with your father and keep yourself covered. )"

Iwan tried to sound as womanly as he could. This time he had a smile as he was remembering his past and enacted it as he remembered.

Sadly, as a result of that, the old man scratched his head a bit too hard.

With a red scratch mark on his head, the old man's head looked like a perfect landing spot for eagles.

"Continue, child."

With anger in his eyes, the old man glared at Iwan and ordered him to continue.

'Here he goes begging me again. I guess I was born to be a storyteller.'

Iwan thought with a complacent smile but once again, he had misunderstood the obvious killing intent in the eyes of the old man who looked disgusted by Iwan.

Ignoring the look in the old man's eyes, Iwan continued while changing his voice from time to time to play the role of his father and mother.

"Before my mother could leave, my father stopped her.

( I will go, darling. )

Right when my father said that, I saw it.

The sad look in his eyes.

That sadness was just a cover that was hiding his desperation.

My father crouched down next to me and gently placed one of his hands on my shoulder.

( Son, I will be back with that milk. Just be ready to cut the best cake of your life. )

Even though sweet words came out of his mouth, his expressions said otherwise.

Taking out a chain with had a key swinging on it, my father made me wear it.

I looked at him silently as he got up after leaving this ugly chain around my neck. Nonetheless, there was still a key that I could look down at. It was the key to his truck.

The moment my father left through the door, that was the last time I saw him and his disappearing back in the snowstorm.

Year after year passed and I waited for his return.

Continuous staring at the door wasn't enough as I started to hate two things.

My Birthday and Milk."

"Hahahaha~"

The old man laughed and clapped his hands while Iwan had a single tear leaving his right eye and a bloodshot left eye. He wanted nothing more than to shoot a laser at the target, which was the bald scratched head of the laughing old man.

"Ahem, I forgive you son but continue with your past. Now, I am really interested."

The old man barely held back his laughter and finally showed an expression of interest toward Iwan and how he had lived his life.

'Look at him begging me again. He really loves to hear about it. Did I make a mistake by not taking up this as a job?'

Iwan wondered for a second which showed that this wasn't his first time telling about his past to a complete stranger.

Iwan gave a smug look after which he continued telling about his past. For some reason, he closed his eyes as though he was remembering a scene from that time.

"My dad leaving me was the first betrayal that I faced.

But, that wasn't last.

After the age of six, I lived with my mother and just as she supported me, I had decided that I will never let her down, no matter what.

At the age of fourteen, even though I felt reluctant, I used the key that my father had left behind.

Using the key was the only way that I could earn something. By driving around that bastard of a father's truck in the always cold weather of Yakutsk, I would earn as much as any working adult.

But, after just four years of me working my ass off, another betrayal had to fall before me."

Iwan finally opened his eyes. His hands were tightly clenched.

A devastating change had appeared in his eyes with his emotional state rising rapidly.

A single tear was falling down his left eye and his right eye was bloodshot.

A devastating change indeed.

As the three A's aligned, Iwan finally looked at the old man, or rather, where the old man was before he closed his eyes.

"BAOBA!?"

Iwan's tongue twisted as the word 'babe' was already beyond recognition.